Search - Bob Marley :: Natty Dread

Important

Sean M. Kelly | Portland, Oregon United States | 09/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The demise of the original Wailers was certainly tougher on Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh in terms of later success than it was on Bob Marley, who saw the value in spreading his beautifully defiant messages in music that meant crossing over to reach white audiences at the risk of alienating his core Rastafarian audiences at home.As it turned out, Bob successfully reached everyone, and "Natty Dread," his first crossover success, proved it. There is little I can say about this lp that hasn't been said hundreds of times before, but here goes. It is one of the most perfect reggae lps made. Bob, now the undisputed leader, shines his visionary lights on high beam for the world to see. His was a message of defiant unity- a message that Peter Tosh also embraced, but in a much more radical way. The key to Bob's success was that he understood moderation. His protests were subtle, poignant, yet you still knew they were protests, whereas Tosh's protests were blatent, in your face accusations (which I admire to no end) that left little to the imagination..Bob's protest/love songs, such as "No Woman No Cry," are true tearjerkers, while "Revolution" leaves no doubt where Bob is at. The mix of love and protest on "Natty Dread" is a perfect yin/yang balance that Bob, no less anyone else, was ever able to reach again. It's a beautifully frozen moment in time that can be relived again and again- and should.One of the most important reggae lps ever made, and one of my top 50 lps of any genre, any time period, and one I always seem to go back to for inspiration, "Natty Dread" is simply incomperable."

Rebel Music

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 03/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Natty Dread was an extremely important album for Bob Marley. Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer had left the band and Mr. Marley was out on his own. He delivered an album that painted a vivid portrait of live in the shanties in the ghettoes of Jamaica. Many of the songs like "Them Belly Full (But We Hungary)", "Revolution", "Rebel Music" and "Bend Down Low" were a call to arms, songs that didn't asked for change, but demanded it. "Talkin' Blues" takes its cue from Bob Dylan's early 60's songs. Not everything on Natty Dread is angry, "Lively Up Yourself" is a bouncy number about having a good time and the original studio version of "No Woman No Cry" is a reaffirmation that as the line goes, "everything's gonna be alright"."

Bob Marley's Breakout Album

rodog63jr | bronx, N.Y.C. N.Y. USA | 10/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As one who listened to my mother's Bob Marley records in my childhood (she's from Jamaica), this the one I like the most. The songs on here such as No Woman, No Cry, Natty Dread, Lively Up yourself, and Talkin' Blues are the songs that helped Bob Marley reach a worldwide audience."